Shocking news broke in the college football world on Sunday afternoon that Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley would leave the Sooners and head out west to take over at USC.
Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports first reported the news that Riley would become the Trojans new head coach less than 24 hours after the 38-year-old firmly denied any connection between him and the LSU vacancy. Matt Zenitz of On3 Sports confirmed Thamel’s report shortly after.
Riley’s move away from Norman is a seismic one for not only the parties involved, but also college football as a whole. ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit was among those that recognized the Riley hiring as a program-altering moment for USC.
“CONGRATULATIONS to USC football on hiring LINCOLN RILEY!!! WOWWWWW!!!!!! Mike Bohn with a STATEMENT out west. Congratulations Trojans!” Herbstreit wrote on Twitter.
CONGRATULATIONS to @uscfootball on hiring LINCOLN RILEY!!!
WOWWWWW!!!!!!
Mike Bohn with a STATEMENT out west.
Congratulations Trojans!— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) November 28, 2021
Riley has reached the top of the mountain during his five seasons at the helm at Oklahoma. He amassed a 55-10 overall record and led the Sooners to the College Football Playoff in three of the last five years.
Rather than face stiffer competition in a few years when Oklahoma moves to the SEC, Riley will instead become the premier coach out west. The Pac-12 has only ever gotten one team into the CFP, but now may have its best shot with a revamped USC program.
Riley will be in a great position to dominate recruiting in South California, as he’s already managed to do with the Sooners in recent years. Now he’ll be directly in the area, he’ll try to encourage some of the region’s top high school players to stay near home and play for the Trojans.
So, it looks like one top-tier head coaching job has been filled, but another has just opened up at Oklahoma. Time will tell how the Sooners respond to losing their program leader in the coming days.
The post Kirk Herbstreit Reacts To USC Hiring Lincoln Riley appeared first on The Spun.